Gilbert, Ariz., July 19, 2017 - The Conservatory of Recording Arts & Sciences (CRAS; www.cras.edu), the premier institution for audio engineering education, will be opening the doors to its Gilbert, Ariz. campus (1205 N. Fiesta Blvd.) to prospective students, parents, and the media on Saturday, July 22 from 10am – 4pm. Three CRAS graduates will be on hand for the Open House, and they will also be part of an Open Panel Forum held for current CRAS students the evening of July 21.

“There are incredible opportunities out there, and we are dedicated in helping our students learn to harness their craft here at CRAS,” said Kirt Hamm, CRAS administrator. “That’s why, multiple times per year, we invite prospective students and their parents to attend our open house events where they can meet and speak one-on-one with our internship team, faculty, staff, students and grads. They will also have the opportunity to see and participate in live demos in our studios, Live Sound Venue, labs, and classrooms.”

CRAS wants to give them an idea of what’s out there first hand so they know what to expect when they hit the open job market. Besides the school’s mandatory internship program, getting its students in touch with the school’s graduates who are either working for others, or who have made the leap into self employment, is huge. “That’s what this panel is about in our upcoming Open House,” Hamm continued. “Continued education, networking, and learning what it takes for going out on one’s own by those who have done it already is of enormous value for any student.”

Members of the graduate panel include:

-Zachary Simon - Simon is an In-house sound designer for a video game development company Obsidian Entertainment. He has worked on titles such as South Park: The Stick of Truth, Pillars of Eternity, and Tyranny. Recording. Editing, mixing, mastering, and, of course, troubleshooting are all a daily part of the job.

-Kyle McAulay - McAulay currently works at NRG Recording in North Hollywood, Calif. where he is a staff engineer/assistant. He has had the pleasure of working with Lamb of God, Esperanza Spalding, Bloodclot, Fred Durst, and assisted sessions such as Motorhead, Smashing Pumpkins, POD, and countless others.

-Joseph Hernandez - Hernandez currently works in broadcasting as a full-time audio technician with Salt Lake City’s local Fox 13 News station for the past two years. In the past, he has also gigged doing live sound from medium to small venues. He worked in the product development department at Skull Candy headphones doing audio driver testing, as well as running a full-time recording studio…Boombox Studios.

At the July 22 Open House, guests will be able to interact with CRAS faculty and get a taste of the curriculum and the state-or-the-art audio gear spread throughout its numerous classrooms as well as its 42-foot mobile broadcast unit. They will also be able to participate in live demos in many of these real world audio recording studios, Live Sound Venue, and labs.

The Conservatory of Recording Arts & Sciences is composed of two nearby campuses in Gilbert and Tempe, Ariz. A CRAS education includes broadcast audio, live sound, audio post for film and TV, music production, commercial production and video game audio, all taught by award-winning instructors who have excelled in their individual fields. CRAS structured programs and highly qualified teaching staff provide a professional and supportive atmosphere, which is complemented by its small class sizes allowing for individual instruction and assistance for students in engineering audio recordings. CRAS has been providing quality vocational training in audio recording for more than three decades. The curriculum and equipment are constantly being updated to keep pace with the rapid advancements in the music and sound recording industries. CRAS’ course offerings and subject matter have always centered around the skills and knowledge necessary for students’ success in the audio recording industries.

The 11-month program is designed to allow every student access to learn and train in all of the Conservatory’s studios which are comprised with state-of-the-art audio recording and mixing gear, the same equipment used in today’s finest studios and remote broadcast facilities, including Pro Tools 12, API Legacy consoles, SSL AWS consoles, Studer Vista consoles, and much more. All students must complete a 280-hour industry internship to graduate from the Master Recording Program II that may ultimately lead to industry employment. A CRAS graduate was nominated for a 2017 Grammy Award. In addition, 32 CRAS graduates worked on 35 2017 Grammy-nominated albums and songs across 35 categories, of which 11 graduates received multiple credits on nominations.

“We want everyone to see, hear, and feel how our 11-month program focuses exclusively on what a student needs to know to begin living their passion in any one of the many facets of the recording arts,” explained Hamm.

For more information on the Conservatory of Recording Arts & Sciences, please visit www.cras.edu, contact Kirt Hamm, administrator, at 1-866-757-3059, or email to info@cras.edu.

About The Conservatory of Recording Arts & Sciences

Based in the heart of The Valley of the Sun with two campuses in Gilbert and Tempe, Ariz., The Conservatory of Recording Arts & Sciences (CRAS) is one of the country’s premier institutions for audio education. The Conservatory has developed a unique and highly effective way to help the future audio professional launch their careers in the recording industry and other related professional audio categories.

On October 8, The Conservatory of Recording Arts & Sciences’ Gilbert, Ariz. Campus Opens its Doors to Prospective Students; “Exploring Different Career Paths in Audio” Panel for Current CRAS Students will be the Evening of Oct. 7

On October 8, The Conservatory of Recording Arts & Sciences’ Gilbert, Ariz. Campus Opens its Doors to Prospective Students; “Exploring Different Career Paths in Audio” Panel for Current CRAS Students will be the Evening of Oct. 7